Gerard ButlerSubmarine drama Hunter Killer will start filming in London in the next few days starring actors Gerard Butler and Michael Nyqvist.

Set beneath the polar ice cap, Hunter Killer tells the story of a mission launched by a submarine commander and US Special Forces with an aim to rescue the kidnapped Russian president and avoid nuclear war between the US and Russia.

The film is based on the novel Firing Point by George Wallace and Don Keith.

In a previous incarnation Hunter Killer was in fact planning to film partly on location in Alaska, but then the north-west US state cancelled its filming incentive programme and the movie’s studio backing changed, stalling development.

London is one of the world’s top production hubs because of its deep crew pool and studio infrastructure, as well as the UK’s tax credit support.

Hunter Killer is also scheduled to film scenes in Bulgaria, where general production costs significantly undercut the competition in western Europe.